Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany locks his brakes during the Australian F1 Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne on March 27, 2011. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will go into Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix as a heavy favourite, buoyed by a comprehensive season-opening victory in Melbourne a fortnight ago to kick off his world title defense.

Chasing a fourth consecutive win spanning the end of last season and the start of this one, the 23-year-old German could also have the added bonus of the KERS system power boost that the team opted against using at Albert Park.

Red Bull are expected to make a final decision whether to use the kinetic energy recovery system after Friday practice but with Vettel so dominant in Melbourne, his biggest danger is likely to be the notoriously volatile Malaysian climate.

Vettel stormed to victory around the demanding Sepang circuit a year ago, his cause aided by McLaren and Ferrari's woeful misjudgement of the conditions during qualifying that left them at the back of the grid on race day.

In 2009, Jenson Button, then driving for Brawn GP, won a rain-affected race that was halted by downpours after just 31 of the scheduled 56 laps and half points were awarded for the first time since 1991.

"Malaysia is the first real track we go to, as Australia is a semi-street circuit," Vettel said. "It's hot and rains everyday, but the question is when and how much? It will be a tricky one."

Rain is forecast throughout the race weekend and with the new Pirelli tyres expected to degrade quicker than they did at Melbourne in the sweltering Malaysian temperatures, team tactics will play a huge role on Sunday's outcome.

Vettel's Australian team mate Mark Webber had a disappointing home grand prix, finishing down in fifth after starting third on the grid, but Red Bull are hoping changes made to his car will see him run closer to the other RB7.

"In the sort of post mortem on the event, we found a few things on Mark's car, a few things set-up-wise, that certainly wouldn't have helped Mark, and all those elements have been changed for Malaysia," team principal Christian Horner said.

McLaren enjoyed something of a renaissance in Melbourne with 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton claiming a surprise second place after the team rejigged the car following a disappointing pre-season of testing in Spain.

Pecking order

Hamilton was delighted to finish 22.3 seconds adrift of Vettel in a car that had suffered considerable damage to its undertray in the final session and the Briton expects a truer picture of the championship pecking order to emerge this week.

"After the pace we showed in Melbourne, I think we can have another good race in Malaysia," Hamilton said. "Albert Park is a great track, but a circuit like Sepang is where the differences between the cars will start to become clearer.

"I'm really looking forward to using KERS Hybrid and the DRS (adjustable rear wing) too... the rapid change of direction you experience when the car is really in the groove is phenomenal around here."

The biggest disappointments in Melbourne were Ferrari and Mercedes. Both had promised much in pre-season testing but the Italians were let down by poor qualifying pace while neither of the German cars finished the race following early collisions.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso is far more optimistic of a better showing by Ferrari in Malaysia but remains wary of how much impact the weather will have over the weekend.

"We know we have to improve our performance level, but we are equally aware that in the end, the race result was not such a disaster," the Spaniard said of his fourth place finish in Australia.

"We will have a few minor updates on the car, but nothing very significant. I believe we must stay concentrated on our own work and try to understand how to get all the potential out of the (car) and I'm sure there's plenty to come.

"The fact that the weather can change so quickly here makes the preparation work for the various phases of work on track more stressful."

Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher expects Mercedes to be in a "fighting mood" for the second round after lasting just 19 laps in Australia, the German believing it was far too early to write him off.

"There is absolutely no doubt we want to do better than in the opening race, which was a disappointment for all of us," the 42-year-old said.

"We clearly see that as a challenge and it is much too early to write us off. Everybody in the team remains positive and is in a fighting mood. So I expect a better weekend for us to come; a weekend we can build on." — Reuters

SEPANG, April 8 — Formula One's introduction of adjustable rear wings was intended to make overtaking easier and drivers agree this weekend's Malaysia Grand Prix will be the perfect venue to test its effectiveness.

The season-opener in Melbourne was highlighted by a prolonged battle for track position between Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Jenson Button, but the short straights at Albert Park did little to suggest racing was more competitive.

Sepang, however, has two very long straights and with the Drag Reduction System (DRS) detection zone fixed yesterday on the final corner before the home straight, opportunities to overtake will be far more frequent than witnessed in Australia.

In the DRS detection zone, drivers must be within one second of the rival ahead of them to get the wing activated. In that area, drivers open a flap to gain more overtaking speed before it automatically closes when the brakes are deployed.

"I got pretty close to (Ferrari's) Fernando Alonso a few times in Australia and only once with (McLaren's) Lewis Hamilton on lap three," Red Bull's Mark Webber, who finished fifth, told reporters yesterday.

"Fernando was someone I expected to put more pressure on.

"But it was a characteristic of the corner onto the start-finish... it was too quick. And the entry to Turn One, even if you got close, it was easy for the guy to manipulate the line for you, and give you a different trajectory into the corner.

"Here will be a completely different story. If it doesn't work here I don't know where it will work. You have a slow corner to open the lap, a slow corner at the braking point, and Heathrow airport in between as well in terms of options, so it should work."

Button, who was handed a drive-through penalty in Melbourne after passing Massa illegally, enjoyed his battle against the Brazilian but expects Sepang to be a far better circuit to employ the DRS.

"It was frustrating but when you look at it now, it looks like a good race, I would say. But even with the DRS it is still very tricky to overtake at a place like Melbourne with such short straights," the Briton said.

"Sepang is one of those circuits where you can really have a good tussle as corners flow into each other," he added.

"I think with the DRS system it is going to make overtaking a lot easier than it was in Melbourne. Maybe it will be a little too easy, as I think being within a second before the last corner, even without DRS, you can have a good chance of overtaking." — Reuters

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) - Tim Clark was 2 under at the Par 3 Tournament, significant not so much because of the score or the event, but the fact the South African played golf.

It was his first competition since he finished second at the Sony Open in Hawaii three months ago.

Clark has been coping with a severe and mysterious injury to his left elbow, which has kept him from even hitting full shots until Tuesday on the practice range at the Masters. There's still no guarantee he will play in the Masters on Thursday. He first wanted to get through the Par 3 and make up his mind.

In that respect, at least he finished. "I've started to get better the last two weeks," he said. "In the last few days, they might have found something that's causing the problem. It could be a pinched nerve in my neck that's the root of the problem. I'm hoping that's the case."

After returning from Honolulu, and when he woke up after his first night at home, his elbow was throbbing. He tried a cortisone shot a few weeks later, and it didn't get better. Clark actually flew out to Pebble Beach, but he could tell on the range he couldn't play.

He even tried blood spinning, a painful process that "hurt like crazy." It didn't help.

Clark was in good spirits before the Par 3. Two weeks ago, he felt he had no chance of playing the Masters. A week ago, he had hope. And on Wednesday, he hit full shots on nine holes.

He plans to tee it up Thursday, although his expectations are next to nil. Without having hit full shots in three months, he lacks strength in his arms. Also doubtful is defending his title in The Players Championship next month.

"We'll see how it goes," Clark said.

Only after he was done talking about his elbow did he mention the best news of all during his absence. His wife gave birth to their first child Friday, a 6-pound boy they named Jack.

HOUSTON (AP): America's Ryan Sweeting escaped six break points in the final game to upset second-seeded countryman Sam Querrey 3-6, 7-6 (5) 6-3 in the second round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships on Wednesday.

There were 11 total service breaks in the match. The players broke each other in seven consecutive games, spanning from the last five games of second set through the first two games of the third.

Sweeting survived 18 of 24 break points. Querrey lost three points on his serve in the tie-breaker, including a double-fault for set point.

"I just don't feel comfortable on clay yet," Querrey said. "I need to just put a couple of weeks of practice in there and get ready for the next tournament."

A Team Lotus crew member putting together their race car in the pits at the Sepang Racing Circuit yesterday. — Picture by OSMAN ADNAN

AS expectations of an improved performance continue to build up, Team Lotus drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli remain confident they will have a good outing at the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.

Team Lotus, who received new engines from Renault and gearbox from Red Bull for the new season, are expected to push for the middle of the field this year but were hampered with power steering and radiator problems at the season opener in Melbourne which saw Kovalainen not finishing the race and Trulli managing 13th place out of 14 finishers.

Kovalainen said he was looking forward to competing at Sepang and did not feel pressured to perform well at the team's home race.

"This is a big race for us being on home soil and we are looking to get everything we can out of the car which we were not able to do in Melbourne," said Kovalainen.

"I don't feel any pressure to race here due to the fact that we are well prepared, focused and set-up for a good weekend. The problems which we faced in Melbourne have been fixed and should not recur which will hopefully allow us to do well.

"The huge fan base we have here is also something we take positively. Rather than think of it as more pressure, it actually feels good to know we have their support," added Kovalainen.

Both drivers said they were aware of the possibility of heavy rain during the weekend and were prepared to face the worst.

"Sepang is a very challenging track technically and also in terms of weather. It is very hot and humid here and we both know from past races that when it rains it will be very heavy," said Trulli.

T-Team's Norfarhan Mohamed (left) is challenged by Kelantan's Nurul Azwan Roya in their Super League match in Kuala Terengganu on Tuesday. T-Team won 4-3. — Picture by Rozainah Zakaria

FIRST Sabah, then Kelantan and now T-Team will be aiming to bring down current league leaders Selangor when they travel to Shah Alam Stadium on Saturday.

"We have to strike while the iron is hot," said coach Yunus Alif after watching his side edge Kelantan 4-3 at Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Tuesday.

Delighted with the hard-fought victory and happy with the vote of confidence the management has given to keep him as head coach, Yunus said the game against Selangor could not have come at a better time.

"The morale in our camp is at an all time high after the two consecutive wins and for the first time in a long time, all of our key players are fit to play," said Yunus.

"Dead-ball specialist Zairo Anuar Zailani, who was side-lined for more than a month due to a knee injury, came back brilliantly to score with free kicks against Sabah and Kelantan."

The midfielder's return gives Yunus an option of re-deploying captain Rosdi Talib to the left-back position, allowing Norfazly Alias to play his preferred central defensive role.

"Goalkeeper Syamsuri Mustaffa is back to his best fitness-wise and striker Haris Safwan Mohd Kamal has also come back strong, scoring twice in two games," said Yunus.

"It is certainly good to know our strikers are scoring again. I am happy for Norfarhan who scored his first goal of the season against Sabah and another in the Kelantan match."

Meanwhile, manager Rozi Mamat confirmed that team members will receive instant bonuses for winning matches.

"We paid the players RM500 each for beating Sabah and they will get RM1,000 each for the spirited win against Kelantan," said Rozi

"Chances are the amount will be even bigger should they beat Selangor on Saturday."